Hazel creek closures due to bear incident

[TNhiker]

This came down early this afternoon....





Park Closes Several Trails and Backcountry Sites Due to Bear Incident


Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have closed several trails and backcountry campsites in the Hazel Creek section of the park due to a bear incident occurring at approximately 10:30 p.m. on June 6. A 16-year old male from Ohio was pulled from his hammock by a bear and injured at backcountry campsite 84 which is 4.5 miles from the Fontana Lake shoreline near Hazel Creek in NC. The father was able to drive the bear off from the area.


Immediately following the incident, the young man and his father hiked to the lakeshore where they were transported across the lake to Cable Cove boat dock by campers at backcountry campsite 86 who had a boat. Graham County Rescue EMS transported them to a landing zone where the injured party was flown by Mountain Area Medical Airlift (MAMA) to Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC at approximately 3:00 a.m. this morning.


The young man received multiple injuries including lacerations to the head. He remained conscious throughout the incident and is in stable condition at this time.


Park rangers and wildlife biologists are responding to the backcountry campsite area to investigate the scene and to clear the area of other campers. Hazel Creek Trail, Jenkins Ridge Trail, Bone Valley Trail, Cold Spring Gap Trail and backcountry campsites 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, and 88 are closed until further notice. Derrick Knob shelter along the Appalachian Trail has also been closed to camping until officials can determine whether recent bear activity at the shelter may also be related to the same bear.


“While incidents with bears are rare, we ask park visitors to take necessary precautions while hiking in bear country and comply with all backcountry closures,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “The safety of our visitors is our number one priority.”


The father and son were on a multi-day backpacking trip in the Smokies. Both campers were sleeping in hammocks approximately 10 feet apart and had all equipment, food, and packs properly stored on aerial food storage cables.


For more information on what to do if you encounter a bear while hiking, please visit the park website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/black-bears.htm. To report a bear incident, please call 865-436-1230.

[lkmi]

Yikes!
I'd heard hammock = bear burrito. As a newbie hanger, I sure hope this is a rare occurence...

[Lone Wolf]

Yikes!
I'd heard hammock = bear burrito. As a newbie hanger, I sure hope this is a rare occurence...

it's the smokys. no predators or hunting. they need to be thinned out

[TNhiker]

Yeah.....

im kinda leaning that way as well...

it will just get worse as the years go by....

[Walkintom]

In the Porcupine Wilderness, a couple of hours away from us in the UP, they allow bear hunting.

Bears that go, "Hey, what's that you got there?" don't last too long. Being afraid of humans is a survival trait.

This is a case where hunting really helps because it helps keep the wildlife wild.

[RF_ace]

i ran into several bears a few years ago in that vicinity a few years ago...

[daddytwosticks]

it's the smokys. no predators or hunting. they need to be thinned out

...who needs thinning out? The bears or the hikers?

[TNhiker]

In the Porcupine Wilderness, a couple of hours away from us in the UP, they allow bear hunting.

Bears that go, "Hey, what's that you got there?" don't last too long. Being afraid of humans is a survival trait.

This is a case where hunting really helps because it helps keep the wildlife wild.

This happened in a national park where rules are different than wilderness areas......

[imscotty]

Wow, that is an aggressive bear. Sounds like dad and son did everything right. I'm with lone Wolf, a little hunting would instill a healthy dose of fear in those GSMNP bears.

[moytoy]

Wow, that is an aggressive bear. Sounds like dad and son did everything right. I'm with lone Wolf, a little hunting would instill a healthy dose of fear in those GSMNP bears.

When I was a kid living in the area there was plenty of illegal hunting in the Park. But that stuff has been mostly stopped in GSMNP these days. Legal hunting is just not going to happen there. I agree with Lone Wolf though that they should be thinned out.

[TNhiker]

...who needs thinning out? The bears or the hikers?

i know you say this in (somewhat) jest, but both need to be thinned out..........

more hikers with bad food storage practices contribute to the bear problem.........

especially, in this area where one can use a cart to carry in as much food as they want......

few years ago, two fishermen were out for one night, and had 3 dozen eggs and 3 pounds of bacon..........

[Fredt4]

few years ago, two fishermen were out for one night, and had 3 dozen eggs and 3 pounds of bacon..........

I understand anticipation is sometimes a part of story telling, but what's the punchline?

[TNhiker]

punchline-----thats alot of food for two people one night.......

adds to the problems with bears...............

[RADHiker]

The thought that this bear went after the boy is terrifying. Tent or hammock, the bear knew what he wanted and tried to take it. Last summer at Siler Bald shelter, we hung near the shelter. a bear foraged maybe 100 ft away. It was pitch black. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. That, too, was unnerving and scarier than I'd care to admit. Having a light handy didn't offer much comfort since it was a single beam.

Anyone have tips for overcoming this one other than lie there and try to sleep through it?

[rocketsocks]

The thought that this bear went after the boy is terrifying. Tent or hammock, the bear knew what he wanted and tried to take it. Last summer at Siler Bald shelter, we hung near the shelter. a bear foraged maybe 100 ft away. It was pitch black. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. That, too, was unnerving and scarier than I'd care to admit. Having a light handy didn't offer much comfort since it was a single beam.

Anyone have tips for overcoming this one other than lie there and try to sleep through it?

I think having a light handy is a good thing...that way I wouldn't step in my own poo.

[Fredt4]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cart...awhn81_low.jpg

[martinb]

Camp bears are the worst of the lot. I've run into a couple of persistent ones, over the years, in the park. It doesn't really matter if you do everything right, this type of bear has scored from previous visitors who maybe weren't doing things right.

[TNshadetree]

Maybe this will serve as a wake up call to all the people I see posting here that sleep with their food.

[BirdBrain]

Maybe this will serve as a wake up call to all the people I see posting here that sleep with their food.

As an advocate for hanging food, let me be the one to point out that they did hang their food. It did not help. This is not a hang or sleep with issue. LW is correct. They need to be hunted. Hunting will fix that problem. Maine has an estimated population of 25,000 bears (last I looked). We have zero bear problems. Our bears are scared of us. Hunting is not whiping them out. "Friendly" bears don't survive in Maine.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Maybe this will serve as a wake up call to all the people I see posting here that sleep with their food.

It won't since this incident had nothing to do with hikers sleeping with their food.